1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to animal handling and transport accessory apparatus and more particularly to a new folding ramp and utility table combination suitable for use in loading large pets into vehicles in one mode, and providing a general purpose grooming or examination table in another mode.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many pet owners prefer large animals to smaller animals and often carry such animals in their pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles. Some of the larger breeds of dogs, for example, may exceed 40 pounds. In order to transport the animals in such vehicles, it is necessary that the animal either jumps or be lifted onto the bed of the vehicle, which is sometimes as much as 2 to 3 feet or more above the ground. When the dog is young and vigorous, it is usually capable of simply jumping into the vehicle. However, as the dog ages, it becomes less able and/or willing to jump into the vehicle and must be assisted, often by lifting, in order to raise it from the ground to the vehicle's floor or transport surface.
The lifting of any large animal creates a potential for injury to both animal and lifter, and should be avoided where possible. Heretofore, simple ramp-like structures have been provided to assist the dog or other animal into the vehicle. Such prior art structures are illustrated in the design patents to Holbrook DES 382676 and Adler DES 412224. A similar structure forming a ramp for allowing a pet to climb from floor to bed top and vice versa is disclosed in the U.S. Patent to Sloan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,060. Although these ramps attempt to provide solutions to the above described problem, their designs are quite simple and do not appear to be capable of supporting heavy animals, are not of rugged construction, and are not capable of alternative use as a grooming table or other application.
There is therefore a need for a ruggedly-built, foldable pet ramp that is ideally suited for use with sport utility vehicles and the like.